TruTrac vs Locker for Transit 250

[tolachi]

Hi All,

I am fast approaching a much anticipated suspension and rear differential upgrade on the Ford transit 250 van i am converting. I got a great deal on an open dif van and have always planned to upgrade but don't want to go all in on 4wd. I had originally planned on an eaton e-locker, but then changed my mind to trutrac because it is more "seamless". I'm strongly considering switching back to the e-locker for better off road ability.

A little about our use. Mostly on road driving but we did get stuck in the sand a couple times last year, BLM and park land, and had to use traction boards to get out. Snow isn't a big part of our lives but even so we have ended up driving through solid snow getting where were going and had to turn back once because we were losing traction. Mostly we'd like to extend our range onto poorly maintained BLM type roads in warmer weather.

My take is that the locker will provide the best off road capability and the open diff great on road. The trutrac is a little more of a compromise in both areas. However, both seem like great options.

Any advice here on which way to go here?

 

[McCarthy]

In my opinion, with a 2wd vehicle there's little use for a true locker, so I would go with a limited slip/automatic locker that will show benefits virtually everywhere traction is limited, not just when you physically lock it in.

In short, go truetrac.

 

[nitro_rat]

why compromise? e locker. traction when you need it, open for ice/snow. true track will wear out in 150k miles.

 

[tolachi]

@McCarthy can you say more about why a locker isn't useful on a 2wd? I've seen that opinion expressed elsewhere but never understood it.

 

[1stDeuce]

You should definitely have brake traction control, but for it to work best, you likely have to turn the engine portion of TC off and learn to modulate the throttle a bit for the desired effect. There is usually a button somewhere, and the industry standard has become that a single press turns off TC, while a press and hold will also turn off stability control. Most vans will re-enable stability control at some speed, usually around 25mph.

FWIW, neither a locker, nor a LSD is likely to help you much in sand driving... Your van will do amazingly well in sand if you learn to drop tire pressure and disable TC. You may have to go pretty low to get out of a sand trap, but I've been able to drive an empty 2wd 3/4 ton chevy van out of a deep sand stuck by dropping the rear tires to ~12psi, and the fronts to about 15. At that point, I ran it forward a few inches until it spun a bit, then back a few, then drove it right on out. No digging, no tow.

For stability on snowy/icy roads, an open diff is best, as one tire usually doesn't spin and thus provides lateral stability. If you spin both tires, the tail gets squirrelly and heads whatever direction is downhill.
(A selectable locker is thus a bit better in this situation, though your TC and stability control will likely keep your van doing fine even with an LSD making things loose.

Lockers/LSD's will help if you are traveling rough terrain, where tires get light while climbing... With brake TC, you'll need a bit of wheel slip to keep moving, bit the LSD will allow brake TC to get you going with a lot less pressure than would be required with an open diff.

Personally, I LOVE the truetrac. The front TT in my Jeep is still working fine with 100k miles on it, and plenty of wheeling involving riding the brakes to help it bind up. (No brake TC on a TJ, so I use my foot...)

 

[GoinBoardin]

I had an Aussie locker (lunchbox style auto locker) in my F150 rear axle for a few years. Offroad it was pretty nuts over open. Not my favorite in winter, and generally clunky on the street (do not recommend). It wore out, so I went back to open for a winter. Then this spring I installed a TrueTrac during a regear. It cost me half of a selectable locker, and I just didn't think I truly needed the performance of a full lockup. It is barely less impressive offroad over the locker for what I do. Maybe that's because my suspension articulates pretty well, I'm not sure, but it flat works. Aired down & with the truetrac, 4x4 is only needed for the gnarlier stuff. The stuff I can drive in 2wd with the TT & correct tire pressure is much more than I think any Transit would ever dream of driving. My truck has a 4wheel camper bolted to the frame, so weight distribution is closer to a van than an empty pickup, I suspect they would perform similarly in that regard. The big difference is likely suspension articulation; the less of this you have the more valuable a locker becomes over LSD. I would go TT myself, in a 2x4 van.

Edited to add: Is the Transit 250 rear wheel drive?

 

[tolachi]

I read this thread that is almost the same question. https://expeditionportal.com/forum/...off-detroit-truetrac-vs-arb-air-locker.89231/

What a popular topic. Seems that there are fans of both but my take away is that a locker in the back is the option that gives me the most traction

 

[Grassland]

Ford Transit 150-350 are rear wheel drive.
They also have low articulation and hilarious euro tire size of 235/65R16 Euro C which are tiny tiny tiny tires that are inflated to 52-75 psi depending on position on a 250.
They dig like ******** in snow and loose soil, especially because the van is heavy and tends to be loaded full of things (the reason most people have these vans is to put stuff in them)
I'd personally take the Detroit Tru Track as the vehicle wouldn't be something of like to be driving in places I take my F150 or drove my Ranger and Jeep WJ.
Only the Ranger was locked with a lock rite and that got squirrelly in the winter.

 

[Augster]

why compromise? e locker. traction when you need it, open for ice/snow. true track will wear out in 150k miles.

What anecdotal evidence do you have that an Eaton Detroit TrueTrac wears out at 150k miles? This is a clutchless, all-gear differential:

Exploded View - Inside the Eaton TrueTrac Differential
Differential Locker Comparison (ARB / Eaton / Ox / Yukon) - Filthy Motorsports

I found no evidence of significant, consistent complaints of the longevity of the TrueTrac, period. There was one person who claims his is wearing out after two years, but admitted to using synthetic oil when Eaton specifically states in its installation manual that it doesn't recommend synthetics due to sufficient lack of testing. But Eaton responded to the photos he sent as saying everything was "fine."

 

[1stDeuce]

I can say that my TT has lost a little bit of "preload" over time. After 100k, I can turn one tire by hand more easily with the other still on the ground. I don't believe the preload is significant though, and so far as I can tell, my TT is still just as capable of binding under mild amounts of torque as it ever was. I may have also ended up with some synthetic oil in there too. That woudn't "damage" it, but if it lowered the coefficient of friction between binding surfaces, it would reduce the effectiveness of the unit. Replacing with dino oil would restore it fairly quickly. I honestly don't think it makes that much difference...

Gears binding in the case is what makes a TT work. I suppose you could wear one significantly, but the gears should still bind, and it should still work pretty well even with high mileage. There are no clutches or springs to wear out. Even if they did wear enough to have reduced effect by 150k miles, that's about 120k miles longer than most clutch type LSDs last, and you'd have changed the O-rings in an air locker like 10 times at that point.
TT is a really good diff, and IMO, a great choice, particularly for vehicles with brake traction control.

 

[tolachi]

TT seems to be coming up as the recommendation here mostly because of the vehicle. The logic is that I will have a hard time getting this monster into situations where a locker is actually needed. My guess this is because of terrible departure angles, poor ground clearance etc... If my offroad experience weren't nonexistent I'm guessing this would be more intuitive to me.

Thanks for the advice and explanations!

 

[Ouiwee]

I had a rear air locker on my K10 truck and replaced it with a TruTrack because I got sick and tired of replacing parts in the locker to get it to work. It literally leaked air the entire time it was in the truck. Perhaps an e-locker would not be so much trouble.

I have TruTracks on front and rear now. They are bullet proof and I am working with 640 lb/ft at the wheels. The only down side, as has been mentioned, is if you have a wheel in the air without brake operated traction control, torque doesn't get transferred.

I have taken the truck through some gnarly trails and never needed a locker.

 

[roving1]

I had a rear air locker on my K10 truck and replaced it with a TruTrack because I got sick and tired of replacing parts in the locker to get it to work. It literally leaked air the entire time it was in the truck. Perhaps an e-locker would not be so much trouble.

I have TruTracks on front and rear now. They are bullet proof and I am working with 640 lb/ft at the wheels. The only down side, as has been mentioned, is if you have a wheel in the air without brake operated traction control, torque doesn't get transferred.

I have taken the truck through some gnarly trails and never needed a locker.

I seldom go to a big 4wd destination place w/o running into someone having a leaking ARB locker. Same with a shocking % of YT videos of people from budget builds to mega buck rigs. I know some people have trouble free experiences but the odds are just too high for me.

On the flip side I have gotten used to the benefits of having truetracs all the time for all my driving I don't want to give it up just to have a better locker for the 5% of hardcore time I see. Even if E lockers were the same price as TT's I would have to think long and hard about getting a locker.

 

[nitro_rat]

What anecdotal evidence do you have that an Eaton Detroit TrueTrac wears out at 150k miles? This is a clutchless, all-gear differential:

Exploded View - Inside the Eaton TrueTrac Differential
Differential Locker Comparison (ARB / Eaton / Ox / Yukon) - Filthy Motorsports

I found no evidence of significant, consistent complaints of the longevity of the TrueTrac, period. There was one person who claims his is wearing out after two years, but admitted to using synthetic oil when Eaton specifically states in its installation manual that it doesn't recommend synthetics due to sufficient lack of testing. But Eaton responded to the photos he sent as saying everything was "fine."

I've had a few and I drive 40-60k a year. They start to chatter first, they get jerky, the gears wear out as they're preloaded. Pretty sparkles in the oil...